Wu Hán
Wu Hán (born 1 July 4208) was a Indralan politician and former Chancellor of Indrala. He was selected as leader of the Lotus Party by the founding committee in 4252 and has remained in that position since. Prior to entering national politics, Wu was elected Mayor of Kaizhou three times from 4240 until he resigned in 4252. Prior to entering politics, Wu Hán was a professor of economics at Kaizhou National University, his alma mater. Early life, family, and education Wu was born to middle-class parents in Kaizhou, Indrala on 1 July 4208. His mother was a school teacher and his father was a civil servant. Wu attended public elementary and secondary school and served his mandatory two years of military service directly after graduation. After his discharge, Wu attended Kaizhou National University where he received his bachelor's degree in education, and later his P.hd in economics. He graduated third in his class and was offered a position as an associate professor of economics at the University, which he accepted. Wu later became a professor and published a textbook on economics during this time. Early career Chairman of the National Educators' Association Wu's involvement in politics started when Wu openly expressed his discontent for the low levels of funding provided for post-secondary education in an opinion piece for the Kaizhou Gazette in March of 4237. Following this publication, Wu was approached by members of the National Educators' Association who persuaded him to run for the leadership of the organization. Wu was elected Chairman of the National Educators' Association on 23 November 4237. He served in this role for one term, choosing not to run for re-election in 4239. Mayor of Kaizhou Candidacy Wu expressed his candidacy for the office of Mayor of Kaizhou on 15 December 4238. Few expected him to usurp the role from the long-serving Mayor Li Cheng, however, Wu utilized his connections in the National Educators' Association to organize large campaign rallies and events as well as run a very strong ground team across the city. On 5 January 4240, Wu was elected Mayor of Kaizhou by a victory margin of only 12 votes over the incumbent Li Cheng. First Term (4240-4244) In Wu's first term as Mayor, he began a process of making the municipal government more transparent and accountable, enacting recall legislation for city councilors, among other initiatives. Wu abolished property taxes on properties worth less than 100,000 INS and raised them on properties worth over 5,000,000 INS. Wu worked with the Kaizhou Landlords Association to reduce rents by 18%, threatening to enact rent controls if an agreement couldn't be reached. Wu invested record levels into renovation and retrofitting public schools and properties. Wu initiated a revitalization project known as the "Kaizhou Innovation District" to attract high-tech and highly-skilled employers to move to Kaizhou. Wu also introduced the "Kaizhou Creates" program which offers tax incentives and investments to Kaizhou-based start-ups. During his term, unemployment in Kaizhou dropped from 8.3% to 4.1%. During his first term, Wu became quite popular, and as such he was re-elected with over 76% of the vote in 4244. Second Term (4244-4248) Wu's focus during his second term was on lowering senior poverty and homelessness in Kaizhou, as well as tackling wage inequality and ending nepotistic civil official appointments. To this end, Wu's administration built 6 new assisted-living shelters for the elderly in Kaizhou. He also enacted a 'base-wage' for all businesses in Kaizhou. Wu introduced a 'blind-selection process' where job applicants for the civil service apply without their name, age, gender or university name being known to the reviewer. This, Wu claimed, would lead to a more meritocratic selection system. Wu continued the initiatives in his first term into the second. He was re-elected in 4248 with 78% of the vote. Third Term (4248-4252) Wu's third term was relatively unremarkable and mostly served to continue to policies of his first two terms. He announced in mid-4252 that he would not be seeking re-election, instead endorsing his deputy Ma Xiying for mayor. Ma Xiying would later be elected. Leader of the Lotus Party; Opposition years After exiting municipal politics, Wu Hán published an autobiographical memoir titled ''Speaking Out for Our Destiny ''which became a national bestseller. His popularity had been rising steadily against the stagnant People's Justice Party and Republic's Conservatives. His popularity also interested a group of intellectuals and Jienist scholars in Jiaozhi known as the Committee for a Fresh Alternative who were interested in building a new political party to challenge the two established parties. He entered negotiations with Committee in January of 4252 and was offered the leadership of the party, which he accepted. On 1 March 4252, Wu charged onto the national political scene when he announced the creation of the Lotus Party in a small event at the foot of Mount Siji. Two months after the party's founding, the other opposition parties dissolved, leaving the Lotus Party as the sole opposition to the Republic's Conservatives. Thus in the June 4252 election, the Lotus Party achieved 5 seats, all of which came from Wu's native Jiaozhi. During this period as the Official Opposition, Wu worked with the government to lessen the harsh austerity first offered by the Republic's Conservatives through a bipartisan tax proposal. Chancellor of Indrala (4258-4269) In the June 4258 General Election, the Lotus Party was re-elected with 266 seats, becoming the largest party in the National Conference. The Lotus Party formed a coalition government with the Nationalist Party. During Wu's time as Chancellor, he has enacted a large number of left-leaning policy proposals which serve as a break from the laissez-faire approach of the past and he has worked to present a more internationalist image for Indrala. During his time as Chancellor, Wu restored funding to universities, introduced the National Pension Program, restored funding to public housing, founded the Wenhua Broadcasting Corporation, among other initiatives. His administration was a time of stability in contrast to the Pua/RC dictatorship prior. Ultimately, Wu was unable to achieve a majority mandate in the November 4269 General Election, where he lost to his former coalition partner, the Nationalist Party under Feng Xinyue. He resigned on election night as Leader of the Lotus Party. Post-political life (4269-4304) Following his resignation, Wu continued to work with International Organization for the Prohibition of Landmines, which he founded during his time as Chancellor. Wu died at the age of 96 of a heart attack. Honours * 發光玉勳章 (Order of Luminous Jade), Indrala's highest civilian honour, inducted July 4276 Personal life Wu was married and had two children. Wu was an aviation enthusiast and is a registered pilot, stemming from his service in the Air Force. Wu was also a dog-lover, having adopted three dogs from shelters. Category:Indralan people